Scars
by fromAFTERLIFE
Summary: They had a lot of scars to share. [FLUFF]


Emma still did not know a lot about him. She found herself thinking about it quite a few times, when she was looking at him. She knew he hasn't always been a pirate. She knew about his brother. About Milah. Broadly speaking, she knew his story. She also knew he was far from the Captain Hook who was depicted in the fairy tales she read when she was a kid, far from this Disney character she remembered.

They shared a lot. In fact, they didn't really speak. Somehow, they always had guessed things about each other. But she was curious about him. It took her a while before she actually admitted it to herself – she wanted to know _more _about him. More than what she guessed or heared about him. She wanted _Hook_ to tell her what happened in his past. Emma couldn't blame him for his silence. She wasn't fond of talking either. _And he did not know a lot about her._

"What are you thinking about, love ?"

His voice was still a bit husky from sleep, his sea-blue eyes gazing at her.

"Nothing important. Random shit happening at work." she sighed.

She couldn't come up with a better excuse. Since they returned home, since they defeated Pan and destroyed Neverland, she did not have that much work. Storybrooke was not exactly the most troubled city and lately, her job as Sheriff mostly consisted of neighbourhood quarrels and badly-parked cars. Hook certainly did not believe a word she shaid and she knew it. At least, he was keeping his sarcasm for himself and did not make any comments.

His arm was holding her against his body, his good hand resting on her back. His skin was warm, soft. Emma burried her face in his shoulder. His smell was something like sea, fresh air - something that she couldn't explain properly. She stayed silent, simply holding him.

"Are you sure there isn't something you want to ask me, lass ?"

Sometimes, she hated him for knowing her so well. She couldn't help herself, she couldn't let all of her walls fall down. She trusted him. After all the shit that happened when they were in Neverland, after what he did, after the honesty, the selfless acts, the comfort he brought to her, the help he offered. But deep down, she was still afraid. Afraid that he would leave her, afraid that he would hurt her. She did not know how to overcome this fear.

"Told you. You're something of an open book."

And, yes, he _knew_. He always knew. Ever since they met, ever since the conversation on the beanstalk. Somehow, she was still afraid to talk. To reveal herself. She pictured the scene again, closing her eyes. She heard him again, saw his fierce smile. She could almost feel the wind on her face, in her hair. She did not forget the talk they had. She did not forget anything. Emma shouldn't be remembering it so well – maybe her walls already began to fall the first time they met.

She opened her eyes, looking straigh at him. He smirked, still staring at her.

She couldn't hide anything.

"I don't know. I was just wondering..."

What was holding her from talking anyway? He wasn't going anywhere. He fought for her – he wouldn't leave. Her hand reached for his cheek, her fingers slowly running on the thin scar carved in his skin.

"Where does that come from?" she caressed the scar one more time with her thumb "I mean...I don't know much about you, apart all the I'm-an-handsome-pirate stuff."

"Do you want me to ruin all the mystery?" He raised an eyebrow, still smiling.

Emma rolled her eyes. Well... She couldn't say that she wasn't excpecting that kind of answer.

"Seriously, Hook?"

She wasn't exactly in the mood for sarcasm and teasing. She wanted to know. He had many scars, some of them bigger than the others, some of them weaving on his back. Sometimes, she would shiver when her fingers rubbed at them, wondering how the hell he could have so deep scars. _Pirate thing_, she thought. It wasn't so surprising. But still, she was curious. It was part of him, part of who he was.

"Okay. I'm glad you're the one asking questions, for once."

He really was. Usually, Hook was the one trying to make her talk, trying to break her walls. Though he was protecting himself too, 300 years of avenging Milah did not made him very talkative. He hadn't tell his past to anyone. His crew used to know him pretty well, when they were still alive. For everyone else he was probably the bloodthirsty one handed pirate.

He may had a lot of physical scars - but she had her amount of scars to share too. Maybe not today. Maybe not now. But she knew she could open herself to him. Someday, when she would be ready to do it, when she would be healed.

As usual, it seemed he knew what she was thinking. Just by catching her gaze. He smiled, one of his soft, true smiles. Not like the ones he had when they were teasing each other. He understood she needed him to talk.

''I'm afraid this is going to take some time. I hope you did not plan anything important today.''  
''Oh, now there's possibly something more interesting than you, _Captain?_"  
"I thought you weren't fond of sarcasm today, _Swan_."

He winked, making her eyes roll for the second time in less than five minutes. She gave him the shut-up-and-just-do-what-I-want look and leaned back on the bed, messy strands of blond hair all over the pillow.

And Hook told her. Stories that she wouldn't have been able to imagine, that she wouldn't have believed a year from now. Stories of piracy, of fights. Mermaids, monsters coming from the sea. Her brain almost couldn't understand the fact that, yeah, this man actually lived all what he was telling. By looking at his eyes, she could see a multitude of emotions.

Shame, pain, bitterness, grief, sadness, sometimes pride or joy.

She didn't interrupt him. She simply listened, fascinated, gently touching his biggest scars with the tips of her fingers.

Yeah, they had a lot of scars to share. And all the time to do it.


End file.
